Judge praises Bronson, but rules he must stay in jail

The face of Charles Bronson, traditionally associated with violence and mayhem in jails across Britain, lit up, albeit briefly, as he heard for the first time a few kind words from a judge.

Bronson, 51, three decades a prisoner, had spent two days in the dock of the Old Bailey, pleading with the aid of a barrister that he was a changed man, worthy of being released back into society.

Lord Justice Rose of the Court of Appeal was not persuaded that he was an entirely reformed character, bluntly refusing to accept his explanation for a 44-hour hostage siege at Hull Prison in 1999, in which he roped up a teacher and held guards at bay with a spear.

But he took pains to admire him for behaving "calmly and with dignity" in the dock and suggested that his prison marriage three years ago might have changed him.

Bronson's wife, Saira, 33, from Luton, who became fixated with him after seeing a newspaper picture of him, said from the witness box that since she had "fallen in love", her husband had changed.

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She said: "At first he was aggressive but he has changed a lot. He has worked very hard and is a million times better."

The judge spoke of firm evidence to suggest that Bronson "in the light of his increasing age, maturity and marriage" was "now a rather different person" from the one in the Hull riot. But he let a life sentence for the attack stand, saying his release would "be a matter for the parole board".

Bronson, with his familiar gold-rimmed dark glasses, walrus moustache and beard, shouted to friends in the gallery: "Thanks for coming. Life goes on. No problem." He then stepped quietly to the cells below for a brief reunion with his wife - and an uncertain future.

For, according to Richard Mallett, his solicitor, there is total confusion about when he will be eligible for release on licence.

Bronson was last night back in "the cage", his cell at Wakefield prison, where a fellow inmate and friend is the serial killer Robert Maudsley, who is serving life for four murders, including those of two cellmates, one of whose brains he ate. Maudsley wrote a letter to the judge on Bronson's behalf.

Bronson, now calling himself Ali Charles Ahmed, has served time in 120 prisons, staged eight rooftop protests, assaulted 20 prison officers and caused £500,000 worth of damage. He has held hostages on 10 occasions, threatening to eat one.

His barrister, Daniel Whitehouse, likened him to the World War II fugitive Anne Frank, claiming his actions were justified in the same way as the young girl would have been forgiven for stealing a car to escape Nazi rule. Lord Justice Rose demurred, saying quietly: "I don't think we are in Anne Frank territory here." The QC argued that Bronson took his hostage after hearing of his imminent transfer to solitary confinement at Woodhill, in Milton Keynes, Bucks, which ran the most severe regime in the country. He was afraid of being cast into "a living hell".

Outside the court, Mr Mallett said that his client was "bitterly disappointed" at the decision but "encouraged by the judge's remarks".

He added: "He is remarkably relaxed, although aggrieved at the prison service. He needs to be rehabilitated, to be treated humanely. He has no release date - nothing to aim for."

The solicitor said the ruling might even mean that Bronson died behind bars. "We do not know the exact date when he is eligible for parole. We have no idea when or if he will be released."

Mr Mallett added: "He makes no apologies for what he has done. He is a product of the prison system. The conditions he has been kept in are inhumane. At Wakefield, for the first time, he has been allowed wooden furniture. Before, he had to sleep on a concrete slab and use a hole in the floor as a toilet."